Hi all. I've been following the FH threads for years and I think I'd like to try the FHlite as my first non-subwoofer speaker build. I have some aura ns3 drivers from a center channel project that never made it to the living room. I wasn't impressed with the hf in a sealed cab, will a horn bring out a better response? For amps I'm stuck with an older Yamaha avr. I'm currently using Bose 10.2 towers with them. Do you guys think this would be an upgrade, or just a fun project? I'd really like to try the FHMK3 with the ma7.3 but am lacking a little experience/confidence and thought a once through with the lite would help make the next build with nicer drivers less risky. Thanks in advance!
That's really several questions wrapped in that short post.
Is there something particular about the 10.2's sonics - either tonally or in its dispersion that you have strong feelings about, either positive or negative? I ask as that could be helpful in shortening your list of possible next projects.
What exactly was amiss with the NS3s hf in your build(s)? While I'm normally able to avoid it, some careful EQ might help resolve that?
The FH Lite could certainly be a fun project - with well over a dozen builds of all three FH models with mostly Fostex and Mark Audio drivers, I'm still impressed by their bang for the buck performance, but as Dave says none of these designs will improve the driver's performance above the bottom end of the telephone band.
The basic topology of the three designs is identical, only dimensions and angles of internal panels are different, so I'd frankly consider the skills / experience required the same for any of them, but certainly the lite uses the least material.
The FH3 / A7.3 is a great combo
Is there something particular about the 10.2's sonics - either tonally or in its dispersion that you have strong feelings about, either positive or negative? I ask as that could be helpful in shortening your list of possible next projects.
What exactly was amiss with the NS3s hf in your build(s)? While I'm normally able to avoid it, some careful EQ might help resolve that?
The FH Lite could certainly be a fun project - with well over a dozen builds of all three FH models with mostly Fostex and Mark Audio drivers, I'm still impressed by their bang for the buck performance, but as Dave says none of these designs will improve the driver's performance above the bottom end of the telephone band.
The basic topology of the three designs is identical, only dimensions and angles of internal panels are different, so I'd frankly consider the skills / experience required the same for any of them, but certainly the lite uses the least material.
The FH3 / A7.3 is a great combo
I know, I stuffed a lot of questions into that post lol. Thanks for trying to address all of them.
The Bose towers sound pretty good to my newb ears, however my wife is less than pleased with their aesthetics. The FH is very simple and elegant, a great example of less is more.
I was hoping someone might have experience with the Bose 10.2 and a Frugal Horn and could give an idea of how it might compare.
The Aura ns3 drivers really didn't have any sparkle? Top end, air? I have seen several builds that included a tweeter to help out in that regard. I am running a subwoofer so bottom end isn't really a concern.
I am also a little unsure about the Yamaha avr that would be driving them. Would this hold the speakers back noticeably? I'll be looking into amps soon, but for now that's all I have.
I hope that's not too much at once. I'm ready to start exploring some more refined audio and I love to craft things. The FH seems like a great project to start with.
The Bose towers sound pretty good to my newb ears, however my wife is less than pleased with their aesthetics. The FH is very simple and elegant, a great example of less is more.
I was hoping someone might have experience with the Bose 10.2 and a Frugal Horn and could give an idea of how it might compare.
The Aura ns3 drivers really didn't have any sparkle? Top end, air? I have seen several builds that included a tweeter to help out in that regard. I am running a subwoofer so bottom end isn't really a concern.
I am also a little unsure about the Yamaha avr that would be driving them. Would this hold the speakers back noticeably? I'll be looking into amps soon, but for now that's all I have.
I hope that's not too much at once. I'm ready to start exploring some more refined audio and I love to craft things. The FH seems like a great project to start with.
HT Receivers have a lot of variance in quality. Some are quite good, but i'd suggest that they still aren't as good as a good separate amplifier.
So yes, you can look forward to further improvement as your front end improves. The speakers are a good place to start thou.
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Looks like a 3-way. With subs you probably don't even take advantage of the built-in sub, but i suspect that that is about quantity instead on quality. Having disassembled a number of BOSE, the drivers are engineered to be inexpensive, so i have little doubt a set of FH3/A7.3 will out-perform on sonics, but may not be able to play as loud.
dave
What model / vintage of Yamaha? It's been rather a while since I've owned one of their products, but certainly back in that day (mid 70s) I thought they were great sounding and excellent value.
I'm not at all familiar with that specific model of Bose, but without bashing the brand my experience with others in the past would suggest you could do better for a pretty small sum with a decent single driver design, which I think most folks who've heard the A7.3 in either FH3 or Pensil combo would agree qualifies.
If you've lived with a 3-way like the 10.2s for a while, you'd definitely want to get the most out of something like the FH3 by running with a HP filter and sub(s). Most AV receivers of recent vintage make that fairly simple by selecting the front mains as "small", and setting the XO frequency to LFE channel line output around 80-100Hz. Of course that requires outboard power, either by way of powered subs, or external amp(s)
I'm not at all familiar with that specific model of Bose, but without bashing the brand my experience with others in the past would suggest you could do better for a pretty small sum with a decent single driver design, which I think most folks who've heard the A7.3 in either FH3 or Pensil combo would agree qualifies.
If you've lived with a 3-way like the 10.2s for a while, you'd definitely want to get the most out of something like the FH3 by running with a HP filter and sub(s). Most AV receivers of recent vintage make that fairly simple by selecting the front mains as "small", and setting the XO frequency to LFE channel line output around 80-100Hz. Of course that requires outboard power, either by way of powered subs, or external amp(s)
Thank you for the detailed responses. The sub is mostly for movies.
My wife is not thrilled about another $$$ obsession/hobby so I have to be very budget minded for now. I keep hoping that she is so impressed with one of my creations that I get a green light for more. Hopefully this one!
I'll start making sawdust in the next week. Thanks again.
My wife is not thrilled about another $$$ obsession/hobby so I have to be very budget minded for now. I keep hoping that she is so impressed with one of my creations that I get a green light for more. Hopefully this one!
I'll start making sawdust in the next week. Thanks again.
locked in your design? sell me your old cabinets.....
Hi all. Perhaps this is a bold entry... but hear me out. Does anyone in MA or NH/ME/VT have beat frugal-horn enclosure(s) for 6.5" that they would want to sell? I need to experiment with this and cant seem to want to 1st build them ugly...and then pretty.
The corollary of course is then you can build a pretty pair without having to store/keep/throw out your ugly FH's...;-)...so its for the good of mankind. yes?
Hi all. Perhaps this is a bold entry... but hear me out. Does anyone in MA or NH/ME/VT have beat frugal-horn enclosure(s) for 6.5" that they would want to sell? I need to experiment with this and cant seem to want to 1st build them ugly...and then pretty.
The corollary of course is then you can build a pretty pair without having to store/keep/throw out your ugly FH's...;-)...so its for the good of mankind. yes?
Hi.
I wonder why you don´t make the sketchup model of the frugel-horn better, you could make each peace a "component" and then measure every piece by yourself. What i can se by now its one or two components?
Also! The plan seems to me to be more difficult than it could be?! For example is 894 the height of the speaker, not the lenght of the baffle?
And if you messure from the top front of the baffle where should the center of the speaker be? 70mm plus 15mm material thickness? Dont think so...
I wonder why you don´t make the sketchup model of the frugel-horn better, you could make each peace a "component" and then measure every piece by yourself. What i can se by now its one or two components?
Also! The plan seems to me to be more difficult than it could be?! For example is 894 the height of the speaker, not the lenght of the baffle?
And if you messure from the top front of the baffle where should the center of the speaker be? 70mm plus 15mm material thickness? Dont think so...
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Am I looking in the right place? I'm trying to find the FH3 plans and cut sheet that we were talking about.
The above link goes to an http Error 404 page not found.
Attachments
Oh that's it! Thanks. I feel dumb now that I didn't find it before. I had actually been to that site, read the terms of use, almost everything but what I was looking for (doh)
All better now.
Edit. Do you have a photo of the rear? Is the tabletop open behind the speaker, or flush to the wall? Do you ever think the table top causes any weird reflections? Ever lay towels on the table top to see if there's a difference?
Sorry for the 50 questions, but my son's getting older, he'll probably need a computer (and desk) for school next year.
I was about his age when my Dad upgraded his stereo, and handed me down his Marantz integrated. It was some kind of a conspiracy for me to get the music bug, cause my Mom got me a pair of Polk 4a Monitors at the same time.
Sorry for the 50 questions, but my son's getting older, he'll probably need a computer (and desk) for school next year.
I was about his age when my Dad upgraded his stereo, and handed me down his Marantz integrated. It was some kind of a conspiracy for me to get the music bug, cause my Mom got me a pair of Polk 4a Monitors at the same time.
The top has two holes routered into it that just fit the tops of the cabinets. I had to "square up" the top few inches of the cabinets to keep the front/back parallel so they'd fit in the hole, and I had to trim a few inches off the flare at the base to keep the desk from sitting too far out from the wall. There's about 3 inches of table behind the inside speaker corner, and the desk is about an inch from the wall.
I posted a few pics in the Planet10 forum
I mentioned this in the Planet10 thread- The imaging is so precise, it's like the computer screen is the source right in front of you. So if there's any reflections, I don't notice a detrimental effect. It's funny, I started thinking about this a couple of years ago, and reflections off the desk were one of the issues I thought about then.
Any pair of speakers sitting on a desk would suffer the same reflections, so I guess it just doesn't matter to me. I could try a towel, but since I'm not going to leave towels on there the result would be moot.
No problem. It's kind of expensive, the table top was $250 shipped, and it seems like the flat packs were about that without shipping (I bought them 2 years ago and just now got around to assembling them), the front legs and drivers would add about another $250, so a chunk for a computer desk. But like I said, it's something that's been floating around in my head for a while and I had to give it a shot. I'm just glad it turned out well, the sound quality is really great.
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